NFL
By: Edwin Duodu
The Los Angeles Chargers may have just cost themselves the division title. In a game where the team needed smart coaching and play execution, the team was unable to complete both during a matchup against their rivals, the Kansas City Chiefs. We saw head coach Brandon Staley make questionable decisions throughout the night and foul play from the defense that ultimately led to a 34-28 overtime victory for the visiting side. In the end, his aggressive nature got the better of the first-year head coach. The Chiefs may be back to their standard form, but this was an opportunity for the Chargers to prove why the league should take them seriously.
Let’s start with the beginning of the game. Andre Roberts, a dangerously known kickoff returner, gets the Chargers set up at the 24-yard line. After a dropped pass by Mike Williams near the goal line, Bradon Staley decides to call the first of his many aggressive plays on the opening drive.
To his credit, the offense got the look it wanted. Donald Parham was wide open in the back of the endzone. Unfortunately, Parham dropped the ball and got injured on the play. It wasn’t a bad call but essentially wasted the efforts of Roberts by not at least converting his long run into points. The Chiefs take the ball and drive 95 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive. Ouch. This was a momentum game, and the Chargers had plenty of chances to keep it on their side.
Los Angeles ended the night by converting only 2-5 on 4th down. Aside from just kicking a field goal, the main issue was the play calling on those specific attempts. All night, the rushing attack was effective enough to win the game. The offensive line faced a Chiefs defense without its best interior lineman, Chris Jones. Chargers offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi, took advantage of that, finishing the game with 192 rushing yards. Each running back for the Chargers enjoyed success with picking the right holes and fighting for extra yards.
The problem was that Lombardi didn’t choose the appropriate play calls on the 4th down situations. The offense converted every 4th down run play call against the Chiefs. Every pass play was not. It’s concerning how Lombardi decided to branch away from what was working all night against a unit that had no answer for the run, especially without its best defensive player. Those plays came back to bite the team, especially the 4th down attempt right before the half. Instead of taking a field goal and possibly going up 17-10, it remains 14-10. Brandon Staley tried to defend his decision-making after the game.
“The quickest way to win a game like this is to score touchdowns, not field goals, especially considering who’s on the other side,” he stated.
Yes, Bradon Staley, you are correct, partially. The quickest way to win a game may be to score touchdowns, but that certainly wasn’t the case against Kansas City. Actually, the fastest way to win that game would’ve been to take the field goal attempts and win it in regulation, not overtime. The Chargers are two games behind first place, and that goal of having home-field advantage is bleak.
Staley is still figuring things out in his first full season as the head coach for the Chargers. The team has great talent on both sides of the ball and can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. However, it’s evident that there is still some more work to be done, and that all starts with coaching. Until then, the potential to be a Super Bowl team is there, but the finished product isn’t.
